Gasoline prices in Utah near record

Utah gasoline prices on Tuesday climbed to an average of $2.29 a gallon, up 3 cents from April 17, according to the American Automobile Association's Fuel Gage report.

One year ago the average price of gasoline in Utah was $2 a gallon.

Tuesday's average price for a gallon of regular, self-serve unleaded gasoline hovered near the state's highest-ever recorded price of $2.30, reached on May 4.

Nationally, gasoline prices dropped 8 cents to $2.16 a gallon on Tuesday, compared to April 17.

Yet with Memorial Day and the high-demand summer driving season approaching, prices could again escalate.

Claire Geddes, a consumer advocate, said the high price of gasoline amid falling oil prices makes people suspicious of a fair and competitive market.

"Basically what you have is these oil companies controlling supply and demand," Geddes said. "The idea that we'll just go drill our way out of this is ludicrous. If we don't start looking at conservation as a country and being more careful with our resources we will be in bad trouble. We're seeing everything just escalate."

Crude oil costs are the biggest component shaping the price of a gallon of gasoline, followed by state and federal taxes, according to the American Petroleum Institute, a trade group based in Washington, D.C., that has more than 400 members in the oil and natural gas industry.

Utah's state excise tax of 24.5 cents per gallon is higher than the U.S. average state gasoline excise tax of 18.4 cents. In Utah, 42.9 cents of the price charged for a gallon of gasoline goes to state and federal taxes.

According to the Associated Press, the price of oil has come down from a high of more than $58 a barrel in early April. Light, sweet crude for June delivery rose 36 cents on Tuesday to settle at $48.97 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

According to Rolayne Fairclough, a spokeswoman for AAA Utah, every dollar per barrel decrease in the cost of crude oil usually corresponds to a matching change of 2.5 cents per gallon in the retail price of gas.

The higher cost of gasoline, according to API, stems from increased U.S. and Asian demand and political instability in the Middle East.

Every city in Utah, except Moab, saw prices increase since April in the AAA survey.

Logan motorists witnessed a 9-cent increase to $2.32. Both Ogden and Vernal prices increased 8 cents to $2.27 and $2.30, respectively.

In Provo, prices rose 5 cents to $2.25. St. George's average price climbed 4 cents to $2.32. Salt Lake City drivers witnessed a 3-cent increase to $2.22. In Moab, prices fell 3 cents to $2.35.

AAA Utah surveys a limited number of communities across the state in its monthly gas survey. Individual service stations sell gas at both higher and lower prices, sometimes even in the same city block.

The AAA Fuel Gauge Web Site is derived from credit card transactions at more than 60,000 stations around the country.

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E-mail: danderton@desnews.com